


A Scaled Approach

by TwilightsDawn



Category: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Movies), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Parental Nagini (Harry Potter), Powerful Harry, Protective Nagini (Harry Potter), Snakes, Strong Female Characters, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-10
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,619
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29932332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightsDawn/pseuds/TwilightsDawn
Summary: She dies in the final battle, her once proud head cut completely off. She expects the backness and to end up burning for what she has done in the name of vengeance and out of Love. Love for the only person to speak and take care of her in her cursed form. Now she has a chance to rewrite it. She can be better, people can be better, she can save them all as she is not as clouded by revenge. There are better ways to achieve retribution than selling yourself to become a Horcrux. There are better ways to end up than dying on the Hogwarts staircase.
Relationships: Nagini & Harry Potter, Nagini & Tom Riddle | Voldemort, Nagini/Tom Riddle | Voldemort
Comments: 4
Kudos: 17





	A Scaled Approach

**Author's Note:**

> Ha Ha Ha
> 
> I can not help but laugh at creating this fic when I have so many other things to do. But when inspiration hits, it really hits, and I am a person that lets the muse run wild. I have read so many Time fix it's I love them... But hey they are all with the same characters. Don't get me wrong I love Harry going at it, or Hermione, or ambitiously Draco or Severus. But I haven't seen nearly enough love for side characters going on adventures so this will be perhaps one of 3 works to feature those that are unexpected fixers of the timeline. Because I like taking tropes and switching em up. 
> 
> And perhaps I am completely mad~!
> 
> Anyway I never really watched fantastic beasts or know everything about Nagini’s curse but thought it be fun to play around with.

_It is a flash of silver in the corner of her eye. The noise is a swooping sound like that of a crane. The blade finds its mark and her head rolls. She can’t even scream or hiss as it is severed from her neck. And she hits the ground below her. Her very last thought is that he will die now. He will die without her protection. The young man that has grown to be something that only something like her can love. She would have saved him if she could… change it for the both of them. She has no eyelids so there is not a single tear that can be shed and she knows that none will ever miss a snake. None but the boy that found her hiding in the great forests of Europe. None will ever wonder who Nagini was, what she wanted, how she felt. Why she would do the things that she has done._

~~~¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-<>< ~~~

She feels like she is endlessly falling, her scaled body unraveling into darkness. Scales falling away like falling petals and stars that twinkle and reflect more light than she has ever been able to give in her lifetime. It's like ink being placed in water, the darkness swirls around her. It twists, turns, and deepens. It passes around her and through her. Drifts like Credence's magic used to. The horrifyingly beautiful power that had been all his own. 

She can not feel anything. Not her body, not her surroundings, nothing. She doesn’t know how long she is pulled towards the inevitable ground. The time though feels endless. And slowly the black gives way. The light is near blinding. 

And she wakes after what feels like a lifetime. The cool, light, spring breeze carrying the sweet, subtle smell of daisies, foxglove, and the honey-like scent of daffodils, and the soothing aroma of lavender. The petals scattered in the wind and she slowly stood in the midst of a great field with flowers that stretched as far as the eye could see. Down lower there is a lake that shimmers with calm waters. It's beautiful. More so than anything that he has ever seen. Not that she has ever had the chance to see much. She takes a few careful steps forward. The ground is steep, and hilled. She can see a small station and railway that is at the very end of her vision. She blinks out tears. She takes in deep and wonderful, calming breaths. She looks at her pale skin and hands. It's her. She turns her hands over and looks at her palms and nails. She curls her fingers testing them. She can not remember the last time that she stood on legs, and hers are unsure and hard to move. Her dress catches on the grass. The black reminding her of the darkened scales that had once been smooth and covered all over her. 

She has spent her whole life in confined spaces, under the stairs, a tent, and a prison cell. Her life had been running from one place to another, one adventure to sweep him up into another. She closes her eyes this is the first time she has really felt at peace, total peace. She is not confined to the body that can not fit her soul and her magic is limited. Though she has always been limited magically with her curse and lack of education. It does not mean she isn’t smart. She can read basic words. She can read people better than most. Her animal instincts are always heightened by her curse. Sometimes near overwhelming. She feels against the nearest flowers petals the soft feeling under her thumbs something she can’t really describe as anything other than pleasant. 

There is a darkness behind her, but it is starting to be forgotten, like a bad rain cloud that has been blown away by the breeze. The hum of life and voices distorted to the sound of birds, cooing doves, and the buzzing of the hummingbirds echo within this space. There is a very familiar sound of the wind blowing through the beautiful green vines of the weeping willow beyond. The grass beneath is a delicate yet plush foundation that she can stride through. She bends the branches out of her way, no direction set in mind. Just a wanding to move forward and experience. Perhaps she would lay down soon. Rest in this peaceful place. 

She feels tired. Very tired. She has been moving too long. Her blood curse forced her to live on longer than should have been her life span. Forever as a snake, that is the curse. She is older than this new body reflects and she can feel it in her soul, that old ache that will not go away. Still memories are disappearing, becoming less troubling. This fuzzy lightness is a little intoxicating. 

Her sights are moved to the heavens, fluffy, soft, white clouds can be seen with the sharp contrast of a bright blue sky behind. In this particular garden, nothing seems amiss. In this special place, it seems that the world that has so much hate, fear, and pain, is no longer. It is a place of peaceful solitude; the type of seclusion that just seems like sheer excellence. Nagini smiles slightly. Credence would have liked this place, so would Tom. It's far from the busy city and she enjoys the freedom of this place. It hits her then like little raindrops, small memories that trickle in and back to her now she is thinking about it. Worrying about it. 

Her form twisting and tangling, no matter how she thrashes she will not turn back. 

A monster…

A beast….

She shuts her eyes. Gripping at her head and hair. 

How long had she wandered alone?

No one to talk to. 

No one to miss her. 

She grabs onto herself hugging herself tightly, hunching in on herself. Her skin is smooth unlike her scales, but there are scars, old ones, that are from chains. She rubs at her face. Even in her hysteria, she can hardly give a few tears. There is nothing that can calm her. Not even breathing in the smell of fresh dew and wet earth. She can picture herself crawling in it. Forced to be something that she never asked to be. She had never wanted to be, a snake. But a snake she had become. She really hates humans even if she herself is one; belongs in the form that she is now. Humans were all cruel and liars. 

Nagini had been cast to the woods, the deep grasses, and swamps. There wasn’t anyone alive that had treated her kindly. Credence was the last, and he had left her to her cursed form. She had slipped into living just another day, forcing down food in a body she despised. Then there was a man exploring caves and he dared to speak to her, save himself from her fangs. Tom had not just spoken to her. He had petted her head and promised to look into blood curses. A handsome, calming, confident person. He feared death when she would have welcomed it at the time. Gave her hope that they would meet again, asking her to think if she really wanted to die that badly or if she would realize her gifts and look for a cure? He asked her to think about joining him. 

And those words haunted her for years after, what gifts could a creature like her have?

Nagini had suffered between their meetings again at the hands of man. Nearly dead she had slunk into the deeper woods of Albania. Where she found him nothing better than a wraith and she had followed him down a dark path. Followed the only one to break her from the madness and loneliness. A person that could understand her conviction, her needs. 

She had loved him. She thinks. Even with the divide that had been made in Voldemort's humanity and sanity. He was a constant companion and the only one to give her real comfort. They were two monsters created by wicked people, propelling themselves further down the destructive path. She did not know who tempted who more in some instances. She can not say she was innocent. But she had loved him as much as someone as flawed of her could. And he is dead. She knew it was coming. She knew that there was only one logical conclusion to their fate. Even if she wishes it differently, she will be the only one that mourns him. The only one that probably understood him. 

She felt the prickly blades of the grass beneath her feet and wondered if it was all a dream. A horrible nightmare that she had turned into a snake. A nightmare that she has been dreaming for what seems like years. Surly she did not deserve the fate that had befallen her. No person nor animal deserved to be caged or left to struggle alone. But if it was a dream it is the only life she has ever known. She can not recall a mother or father. She can not recall much of a village either. 

Just eyes. 

Always fearful eyes. 

She looks into the water and can see her reflection. Slowly reaching up and touching her black hair and attempting to fix it like those proper women of London. The ones that she is told are beautiful and she herself is not. She is the snake woman. It is the name that they had given her. She knows not her true name. She was sold without one. Nagini… she will always be known by it. 

Voldemort had at least used it affectionately and un-mockingly. 

She could stay here and the place had a strange way of being rather calming even with her strong emotions raging inside of her. But it is almost too perfect. Reality is harsh and she has always been a victim of circumstance. She had never pushed back the tides. She had accepted her fate and fell into depression. Her once friends forget about her and her sacrifice. Dumbledore had ruined everything…

Credence…

Her Tom… 

Her lip curls and she can see her sharper canine teeth. Ones that had been her fangs to strike back at the world. The very ones she had barred at the boy destined to take Tom from her. But he had been talked into that position. He had acted like the perfect sacrificial lamb and her dear Tom had taken that bait. But that boy was also cursed she supposed with a name, face, and Horcrux accidental or not. Tom hadn’t believed her that there had been something off. She empathizes with Harry now that she has her mind again. No one asked for fate to curse them. No one asked for misery and tragedy to mar their lives. 

She dipped her hand into the water disrupting the surface. There is the shimmering of scales that form as she pushes at the liquid. Those glittering black and brown patches are her truest of forms. She had been a snake more than she had ever been a woman. 

Nagini lets out a deep breath that almost slips into a hiss. This place was not for her. It is too peaceful for the things that she has done. She had even stooped as low to try and eat humans to access their magical cores in an attempt to be healed. She had increasingly become desperate to become human for there had been no other goal to go for. No other wish than to be a real use to Tom. She could feel the Horcruxes being destroyed. She could feel his pain. They had been tied till the end.

Now she is cleared from his muddled emotions and can only feel her own. Her own heartbeats and her own thoughts. It feels though as if there is something missing. If there is no rage to her, no drive to protect at all costs, what is she?

What is a familiar without their other half? 

She truly had become something fearsome, hadn’t she? Truly every bit of a beast the old man at the carnival used to claim she would become. Tom had called her greater than the Basilisk that laid under the school. The queen of serpents, smarter, more formidable than any but himself. She laughs softly. She doesn’t wish to be such a Queen any longer. That rule ended on the steps of a castle. Executed by children that she was too mindless to realize did not deserve her vengeance. 

If she could go back… she would find a better way to protect him. She would save them both from that time of isolation in the magical wasteland in Albania. She would help mend his shredded soul. So he would have a chance at a better afterlife. One that she seemed to have gotten with the place around her. One that he would never have with a fragmented soul. 

If Tom could be given one thing… she would like that when he died that he could rest peacefully. His life had been just as tormented as hers. 

The lake shatters as if it is breaking glass. 

**Is it not to your liking?** A being appears beyond the shadow. He is taller than any person that she has met. Thinner as well. He smells like dust, old earth, and parchment. There is the faint odor of rot as he moves closer. **I tried to find a place where both halves of you would be happy.**

She would have liked it many years ago when she had been contemplating her end, not now though. 

“Am I not a woman, but a snake?” She stares at the skull beyond the hood. It reminds her of the graveyard and the large stone that she had climbed. The night that Tom brought himself back. The night that everything had started to change for the worst. 

**You are a woman.** The voice is nearly swept up by the wind. The place around them is fading to nothing but black mists. **But, I would say the snake is every bit a part of you. The snake I can not claim is solely responsible for the way things ended, nor is the human side.**

She stands back up. “I suppose they worked together, though it doesn’t matter now.”

 **It perhaps does. You had a wish before you died reaching out to make a contract that I just stopped you from making.** The skeletal hand rests on her shoulder. **Do you remember what it was?**

She can feel her own neck being sliced into. Hear Tom screaming. She can see the last bit of the battlefield full of bodies. 

Children… Children that should never have been harmed. 

“I wished to save Tom.” Nagini looks into the glowing eyes behind the hood. “Though I suppose that saving him would help to stop the tragedies that were to be.” 

Death if that was what the being was or an angel nod. **It could.**

“But you do not believe that it would.” Nagini can feel the entity's emotions. They drift to her like a melody. The sadness at his words. 

**There are things that are even with the most will unchangeable.**

Tom was stubborn, he was twisted. She knows that. She knows it better than anyone. 

“If I could, I would still try. When he first talked with me, treated me as a person, a person he cared for. At that moment, I felt free. Free from my memories. Free from my burdens. Free from everything. I would like him to feel that way. Free him from those mistakes.” 

Even if that meant putting him to rest after she collected his soul for him. He could not be allowed to take life the way that he had been. He can not become the person that leads to the great castle crumbling. 

**If that is your wish… There are deals that can be made. The question is would you risk your soul for it? This afterlife?**

Nagini looks back through a mirror below them. The flowers blow in the wind and there are pleasant smells and an open space that she was able to be out in the open. An afterlife of peace and she would never have to hide. But it would be lonely. She had spent nearly 60 years alone after Credence's death. Her first love she doesn’t think she can save. He had not listened to her then and he would not have listened to her now even if she could seemingly tell him his future. But there were others that she could be of use to. To return to the world of the living as she now understands her journey would entitle, would be to feel the hate of magical society again. If she was to choose that path; If she was to return then she at least knew how to bare her fangs. Tom had taught her how to fight if nothing else. 

“I would.” She smiles slightly. 

~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-<>< ~~~

There are a lot of rocks below her. Sharp against her belly. Small blank eyes look around her and her tongue flicks in and out of her mouth so that she could taste the air. She twists her body up onto the brighter side of the rocks good for basking. There are fake plants covering and old wood that smells of rot. She hisses softly to herself as she remembers this smelly demeaning place. 

Death did promise there would be some compromises. She looks up at the glass and measures herself with her body. Testing the strength of it and looking at the door that has a knob to let whoever it was into the enclosure that needed to come in and out. It would not have been too hard to escape but then she would not succeed in getting herself where she needs to go. There were people she was to save and others that she needed to bite. One particularly annoying old coot needed to be pumped with as much venom as she could provide. It is a pity that she was not brought back to a different time. 

She sweeps over her enclosure again. There is no real good way to get stimulation for her. The people, ugly, disgusting, humans press their faces against the glass. And she welcomes calling them such things. It of course earns her more shouts that hurt her sensitive ears as it is apparently very interesting to see her move. She lets out a deep breath through her nostrils, flaring them the best that she could and flicking her tongue in a few times as she pressed down another violent hiss from escaping her. She doesn’t hate children. Just prefers quiet. 

Tom understood this even silenced his Death Eaters when they became too loud for her. She longed for a good fire and nice hardwood floors that were easy to glide across. She would even take aluminum over mulch. 

Whoever thought that sharp rock and bark were great habit material should be strangled. 

It mattered not. She would meet the person she had to first promise to save in order to get to her Tom. He would come soon. So she will wait. She knows just the way to get in his good graces. In the meantime, she looks over her scales and makes them as shiny and well kept as she can. She will not be rescued in filth and she will make her ‘keepers’ do their work. 

She had better not have to wait long to get out of this. 

~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-<>< ~~~

She makes a plan then again she is not really sure that it is much of one. Nagini was not really a planner. She had always had big dreams as a child, breaking her curse, exploring the world, falling in love, having a small place of her own. At one time she had thought about having children and marrying Credence. They said dreams without a plan were fantasy and well she had to have been living in one for far too long in her past life. 

So rather she has bullet points on what needed to happen.

The first part of it is upholding her end to Death. Making sure that Harry Potter is well taken care of and shall never become his master. Death liked being a free agent. Her task thus must be divided. Raise Harry Potter to collect the soul pieces and not destroy them. Bring her Tom back with a full soul, power intact. The younger more sane version was preferable. Vows should be able to fix the end she had seen. Voldemort does not want to die and his war will bring his death. So making him agree to work in other ways to hold power and push magic is perhaps do-able. 

She moves her tail through the bark to make important marks. She knows of 6 Horcruxes and their respected locations. Crown, cup, ring, locket, boy, and book. She had met him when he had only made Book and Ring. The young ambitious and hopeful person might still be in there if she was to use those to bring him back. 

Yes, she would need hands for that. She let out a small hiss of annoyance. The rat would not be able to hear her and the wraith was who she had listened to before and knew full well that small part of him was already succumbing to madness. Even if she had loved Tom she is not foolish enough to try that again. 

She runs her belly over the bark again flattening it. Banging her head against the tank glass for inspiration. Everything would have been so much easier if she was human. Not that she had been the best at being human. She never had the chance to do the things she heard about. Curse Love and not wanting to be lonely. A flower field sounded nice about now. 

She stuck out her tongue in a large sigh and quickly moved behind the large log when she noticed a janitor looking at her with wide eyes. 

~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.-<>< ~~~

_Soft blankets and small dresses are all neatly folded and placed in front of her. She slowly reaches out a trembling hand and takes the blanket that is offered its fluffy and she rubs her dirty face into it. It smells nice and she hasn’t seen anything this colorful before. She likes warmth, she built her nests from scraps she can find. Her bright brown eyes reflect in the man’s blue that is smiling at her. He has pale skin unlike that of any she has ever seen. He has hair that is short and graying._

_“ Dear child how long have you been out here?” There are people all crowding around her. Looking at her with greedy eyes._

_She fearfully lets out a low hiss of warning._

__She jerks awake her head slamming into the log behind the fake foliage and the side of the water bowl. She rubs her head into her many coils. She is no longer that scared little girl, she is no longer foolish, or trusting. She will never let false people take advantage of her or the ones she is going to protect again._ _

__~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.- <>< ~~~_ _

__It is the ugliest child that she has ever seen. He is pudgy and there are a walrus and a rat-faced woman standing beside him. They are looking at her with fascination. The one boy reminds her slightly of a younger version of Tom like the small part of his soul that she had taken into herself. His hair is messy and his clothes far too large. They look like extra rolls of stretched skin as they are dyed an awful gray color. The boy has a mitch-matched shirt on over the top to hide the many bruises that he no doubt has. Thin as death he was. Unhealthy is the way his eyes are sunken in. She looks at him and he looks back at her._ _

__“Make him move.” Comes the bratty child's voice._ _

__The large man does what all the other annoying adults did. He bangs on the glass. If she was not pretending to be asleep then perhaps she would have shown just how much she dislikes loud people. If she got wound enough the keepers would close the curtain around the enclosure to help her calm down._ _

__“Move.” He adds to the effect sounding like an oversized cow._ _

__At her not even batting a non-existing eyelid. The pygmy hippo proceeds to scream and bang on the glass the repeated message of “MOVE.” The man’s eyes widen and the woman weakly smiles at her son._ _

__The only one that seems to find fault besides Nagini in the behavior is the twig boy in glasses._ _

__“He’s asleep.” He defends her._ _

__“He’s boring.” The pig decides to leave._ _

__~“Sorry about him. He doesn’t know what it's like lying there day after day. Having people press their ugly faces in on you.” ~_ _

__She moves her head towards him slowly. Showing that she is listening. She shakes her head back and forwards a bit as she rises off the tank's old wood. His eyes widen comically large. It must be his first time speaking to one as impressive as herself._ _

__~“Can you hear me?” ~_ _

__She flicks her tongue in and out. ~Yes.~_ _

__She chuckles as he nearly falls backward._ _

__~” It’s just I have never talked with a snake before.”~ He tries to defend. He already sounds brave. There is hope for him. She will make hope if there is none, but it is reassuring. ~“Do you… I mean do you talk to people often.”~_ _

__She shakes her head._ _

__~“You're from Burma aren't you? Was it nice there do you miss your family?”~_ _

__~Little one I am not from Burma, nor do I have any family.~_ _

__~”I never met my real family. I never knew my parents. My name's Harry, what's yours?”~_ _

__She shakes her head slightly. Little children really did give things away, didn’t they? Naive and fragile was this little hatchling… Her snake instincts told her how easy it would be to eat him. Cute, fragile, things were for eating. The more human side pointed out how children needed to be cared for. Not that boas and mixed magical species like herself really watched their young. The only child she had been around was Draco for a bit and he was nearly insufferable always flinching and panicking at her every movement._ _

__~ I wish to leave.~ She hissed to him. ~ I do not like this place. It is not the place I come from. ~_ _

__~ And where is it that you come from? ~ Harry Potter asks her. His big eyes glistened with wonder. She moves closer to the glass._ _

__~ I will tell you if you help me to leave. ~_ _

__Harry opens his little mouth but finds himself on the ground as the larger more annoying animal plows into him. “Mummy! Daddy! You will never believe what the snake is doing!”_ _

__As he bangs more against the glass leaning closer to Nagini the glass disappears and the pudgy mass falls right over and topples into her water dish. She hisses with disgust she did not want to drink salty water or taste where he had been. She slowly extends herself over the railing and over the lip of the cage. She drops down next to Harry and motions at him to follow her._ _

__~Thanks, run now with me.~ She hisses encouragement as she knows perfectly well that the parents are distracted and it will give her time to explain some things to the boy. There are people already screaming snake as the small child gives in to her wish and runs with the backpack and supplies he had been carrying for his worthless family._ _

__They make it decently far to the more secluded area of the zoo. Nagini hides into the bushes and flattens herself down so that she will blend in better. ~It was best to give them time to cool off. ~_ _

__~ They won’t cool. They are going to be even worse when they do get a hold of me. ~ Harry admits. His face is so tiny she bumps her face into his leg._ _

__~ Hush.~ Her voice dips to the stereotype of a longer hiss of the word. ~ They will not harm you. Not while I live. ~ She shows him her large fangs and he looks quite confused by them._ _

__~I didn’t think boas or pythons had fangs.~_ _

__~They don't. I am magical. ~ She preened. It made her special besides the part that she could not change about herself._ _

__~ You can’t be magical. ~_ _

__

__She rolls her head which is about as good as she is going to get to rolling her eyes. ~ And yet the hatchling is talking to me. If I am not magical and you are not magical. How is it that we are having this conversation?~_ _

__~ I could be hallucinating.~ The boy hunches in on himself. ~Uncle Vernon thinks I have too wild of an imagination.~_ _

__~ Do not make me bite you to prove that I am real. It would be a very unpleasant experience for both of us. ~_ _

__She coils herself slowly around him. She had done this to Tom on occasion to calm him down a bit. He would brush her scales and feel relief. It is the best human thing she can do. Give a hug. Not too hard of course. It would be too easy to kill with one of her strangleholds. He would not stand a chance. She had tired things Tom’s way through with bloodshed and as she brushes up against his face with hers she can tell that there still is a part of Voldemort's soul in there. She flicks her tongue out and in taking in his scent and imprinting hers onto him._ _

__~Okay, you are real.~ He closes his eyes to her affections. ~But Magical?~_ _

__

__~ Magical people are drawn to one another. ~ She hissed softly. ~And I was drawn to you. ~_ _

__Harry this time looks really surprised. He has no idea that he is magical. The idea is sickening._ _

__~ I have been waiting~ She cuts off any questions that he might have. ~Waiting for someone that could speak to me. And you child are the only one that can, that is worth my talents. So we will make familiar vows and we shall work on punishing the hippo for harming you.~_ _

__He looks a little scared of that. ~ I don’t really want to punish the Dursleys …~ She tilts her head at this. Normally most people are at least eager to get even. She has met so many that wish for this. Harry takes that as a need to continue speaking and runs on with his explanation. ~They don’t like anything that is magical… and well I live with them…~_ _

__~Yes and they mistreat you. To mistreat a Magical child is a great insult. To be raised by non-magical people is a crime. ~_ _

__Harry pulls up on his clothes as if that has shown some of the bruises off to her that she knows that he has._ _

__~Do not worry. I will just make them remember that they are your parental figures, no matter how unfitting that they may be and I will help catch you up to speed.~ She gives him another affectionate bump of her nose into him. ~ I will take care of you. ~_ _

__~Your tongue tickles.~ Harry laughed. His smile is nice. She can not name many times that she has gotten Tom to smile at her. It sends a very warm feeling from her insides. As quickly as his smile comes he frowns. ~ How am I supposed to get you out of the zoo? And what are even vows for familiars.~_ _

__She might be lying about familiar vows, she just wants a little assurance that she will not be beheaded later on. She will reveal the truth about her condition at a later date. Nagini climbs off of him and points her tail at the bag. Harry tilts his head and opens it up and Nagini squeezes herself inside the little magic that she has helped her condense herself to fit inside. Her instincts tell her how safe this space is, how she can sleep here. Dark small places are safe._ _

__~That’s brilliant.~ Harry smiles widely. ~You know that you didn’t give me your name. Do you have one? Do snakes even have a reason for them?~_ _

__He is a quiet child even when excited. She can get used to this excitability and already fondness of his tone. She doesn’t think there has been anyone so quite ecstatic about her abilities. She is more used to Horror. The large proud snake of Lord Voldemort can fit nearly anywhere she so chooses to squeeze her head through._ _

__~ My name is Nagini. It was given to me long ago. I have no use for any other name nor do other serpents demand titles.~ She answers for him. Sticking her snout out of the space, tasting the air again to make sure that they are still alone._ _

__~Nagini~ Harry tries it out. ~It is a pretty name.~_ _

__Her heart warms again to the child. ~Harry is a nice title as well.~_ _

__~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.- <>< ~~~_ _

__Harry is found by his relatives. The child is a very poor liar and can not sell them on the fact that he had been separated in the commotion of the snake escape. They would have to work on that. She nods her head to herself. Lying is something that Nagini hates anyone to do to her, but she knows the relevance of it. Necessity. Even with their rough handling, Harry protects the bag she is in. He is careful not to jerk her around and holds on tight during the car ride._ _

__The pudgy boy smells of old water and blankets. He is hamming up shaking in the seat next to them. The day is warm and there is not a single reason that such a massive creature should be cold with such fat stores. The rat-faced woman keeps commenting in a shrill voice how worried she is about Dudders and the fact that they were facing legal issues for releasing a snake and trespassing into a forbidden area._ _

__Nagini supposes that is the best Muggle minds can come up with to try and explain how exactly a child had gotten into her enclosure. She would not miss the loud voices nor the lack of warm touches. She might miss the rats though, they were rather large and easy to eat. Her favorite would always be rabbits that had been preskinned. She doesn’t like feathers or fur._ _

__It is the second that the car stops that she feels the tension in the car. Vernon was the man’s name and he yanks Harry roughly that just manages to keep her bag from hitting the ground. She waits till there is a change in the air and she hears the door shut._ _

__“What did I say freak?” Harry lets out a very loud audible gasp of pain._ _

__“No meals for a week.” Harry managed. “But it wasn’t my fault. One minute the glass was there and then the next it was gone. It was like magic.”_ _

__“There is no such thing as magic.” The man roared and shoved Harry hard as there was the sound of him being knocked into something and then the fumbling of locks._ _

__Yes, it is time to make herself known. Nagini presses hard on the bag. The zipper releases and she slithers out in her largest and most intimidating form. She blocks the door and lets out a deep warning hiss. Harry adjusts his glasses that are yet again nearly in half and stares at her massive form. She can feel the trembles of his heart. She can sense the fear in the air. The disgust and she resists actually attacking the Muggles for it. She needs to use her intimidation now. The woman lets out a high-pitched scream and the boy cowers into her. The massive man’s red face quickly drains of color._ _

__~Tell them to listen well, speaker. ~ She instructs. ~ I have chosen my wizard and if they do not want to face the magical world's wrath and mine they will consider treating the boy that defeated the great Dark Lord Voldemort as a baby with all the care and ressspect that he deserves. ~_ _

__Her large eyes make sure that they are even with the larger man. She dares him to even touch the little one under her protection now. She hates those that harm others without reason. She has been on the receiving end too long. Too long have they bullied Harry. He plays translator and they go even paler._ _

__“When we took him in we said we would put a stop to this rubbish. Freakyness has no place with the right people.” Vernon is backing towards the hall closet and Nagini can smell the gunpowder. She lunged at him and hisses deeply. Her tail shakes with a warning and she could tackle the man and strangle him should he attempt it again._ _

__“I don’t think she liked that terminology,” Harry said standing up._ _

__~ Tell him the gun will not help him. ~_ _

__“Ummm she says the gun will not help you… against magic.” Harry infers rather wonderfully and moves behind her and all is well. She doesn’t wish for him to be in any danger. She dares him to call her bluff. She doesn’t have Tom’s soul in her. She is not as immune to death as she would have liked. She could kill them all easily but she knows well enough that Harry would not approve of such a thing. He has a soft heart. There isn’t anything wrong with mercy to those that deserved it. She is not as sure if they were deserving of anything less than a painful end._ _

__The woman takes another step back. She is blocking her only child and Nagini can at least respect that. It might be the woman’s only redeeming quality._ _

__~ We will be leaving for the magic academy soon. Tell them I am to keep an eye and if I do not like what I see the Magical authorities will get involved and they will do far worse things than Muggle protective services ever could do to them. They will treat us well, host us, and there will be no need for harm. ~_ _

__Harry glances between his family and then her. She huffs, moving back towards him. Rubbing her body against him and nuzzling his side as he recounts what has been said._ _

__See I care about you._ _

__See I can protect you._ _

__They will be terrified of me and leave you alone._ _

__She demands he understands that if nothing else._ _

__The hall is silent and there is nothing but the breathing of heavy land mammals. She motions for the boy to follow her by using her body weight as a guide for him, nudging him to the living room. Harry sits on the ugly pink sofa hesitantly as if it is a sin that he was sitting on it. Confidence she would have to help him learn it. Tom had taught her to take pride in herself. The world could beat one down only as much as one allowed for. Voldemort had confidence, he struck fear, and if anything ever bothered him passed his show of anger over it. He never let others know it._ _

__Nagini curled herself protectively around the boy. She rubs against his scar as the Dursleys scramble to get Harry a room set up and to get out from under her gaze. She can feel that small bit of Tom tucked away, resting, and she doesn’t know how to get it out of him. The magic of it though is comforting, reassuring her of her choice._ _

__~Thanks~ Harry hissed to her after a bit. His hands were hesitant to touch her. His hands are rough and the sensation is not unpleasant. With practice, he would be much better at getting the gunk off her scales or helping get rid of loose shedding._ _

__~ You can pet my scales, Harry.~ She tells him softly. She soaks up the affection that is so freely given. She levels out her breathing no longer as on guard nor ready to spit venom at the oppressors. ~ I am sure that you have many questions.~_ _

__~ Many ~ Harry admits shyly._ _

__She starts by running him through the basics. Government, Hogwarts, and other magical schools, and basics of politics. She mentioned Voldemort in passing and Harry’s supposed fame. She is not ready to talk about him. Tom is a hard subject. It takes a bit and then there was breaking the world down to Muggles and Magical People. Not all were created equally. Some were recognized as creatures over people. Thus there was a social system. Purebloods thought of themselves as the top and the lowest Muggles. Nagini agrees with the assessment of Muggles being inferior. Even though Harry doesn’t seem to think so. It is most likely because Nagini has many years under her belt of seeing the savagery of Muggles. She has seen Magical people do similar actions. But even at his absolute worst Voldemort had not dropped bombs that killed millions._ _

__~ I suppose humans would all be inferior to Snakes. ~ Harry smiles slightly._ _

__She nods her head, not bothering to argue. She is slightly cold and therefore needs to conserve energy. Vows can wait until after she has a good nap._ _

__~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.- <>< ~~~_ _

__The Dursleys leave the large snake living in their home alone. It is a scandal as Harry told her waiting to happen. Their son not only broke into the Reptile exhibit and let one of the large boa’s out but also had the audacity to steal one of them and try to hide it in their home._ _

__She spends the next month of summer endearing herself to Harry and being charmed herself she supposes. She has become fond of him. He has spirit and sarcasm. His humor is not dark like she is used to or at others' expenses. He has small bouts of optimism under her encouragement to ask her things._ _

__Nagini takes her time educating Harry the best she can about the Magical world. She has a rather limited lens to give advice from. She has opinions on things of course. They are some of her own ideas, some of Toms, and some of the few people she had once trusted. School is the best route for Harry to take to become a competent well-rounded individual. She abides by the rule that he needs to be 11 before getting his school supplies but encourages him to practice penmanship with ink and calligraphy pen. She has him study stars and a few other important subjects like botany and anatomy. It’s the best that she can do. She can not read books. She has a very limited reading ability and there are words that are far too complex for her to read nor are there exactly the words in the limited language of snakes she can translate._ _

__Harry takes this as an opportunity to help her, with his limited reading abilities. He has held himself back as not to be better than Dudley at anything. She coils around him and puts her head on his shoulder as he reads._ _

__~ What's this word?~ He asks._ _

__~My eyes are not like yours~ She looks over the pictures of the stars. She can not focus on the words for long and they give her a headache._ _

__~We both have bad eyes.~ Harry smiles at her and she presses her snout into his face to push against his glasses._ _

__~We will get you new ones.~_ _

__~~~ ¯`·.¸¸.·´¯`·.¸¸.- <>< ~~~_ _

__When the letter arrives in the second bedroom window. Harry excitedly reads off the strange school supplies. Nagini listens intently to him. It is part of her work on encouragement. He has become in tune with her movements. Leaning into her and letting her move him when needed. She dares to think she has become something that she had long forgotten the possibility of being. Motherly. She gives him both love and chastising. Building him up is more important, so is drying his tears from nightmares about glowing green flashes of light._ _

__~ Don’t call me Nagini in front of other Magical people. ~ She tells him as they sit by the window waiting for someone to show up and take them for supplies. ~That title is for you and you to use alone.~_ _

__~People will expect you to have a name.~ Harry says stroking her spine. ~ I also would not feel right calling you just snake or something. It seems wrong like the Dursleys calling me a freak. ~_ _

__~A nickname can be used to refer to me in the presence of others ~ She relents._ _

__~Nagi~ Harry shortens her name. ~ It means calm.~_ _

__She doesn’t think that many would have considered that word in her past life, but perhaps she has mellowed out in her older years?_ _

__~Suitable.~ She moves from the curtains and into the backpack as there is a large man coming up the drive. They have met before in the final battle. She can not say that she was all that thrilled with him. He did not have a present smell, but at least he would not intentionally hurt the boy. It's the person that he works for that Nagini needs to worry about._ _


End file.
